FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) - A 25-year old mother of three is charged with leaving her children in a car while she bought ice cream and ice at a Walmart store.

Nacole Beane turned herself into Muskegon County District Court Tuesday. The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93-days in jail and fines.  Beane says she knows now she made a mistake. "And I have to learn from it and accept my consequences."

On the afternoon of July 7th, the mother of a one, two, and six-year old says she went to the Walmart on Sherman Avenue in Fruitport Township for supplies to take to a birthday party.  After her one-year old baby fell asleep during the short drive to the store, Beane says she decided to park near the store's entrance and go in without her children. While inside, a bystander called police to report three children were in a car, with the windows down, and without supervision.

A Michigan law passed in 2009 makes it a crime to leave any child under the age of six in a car without supervision. Children under the age of six must be supervised by someone thirteen or older.

Child Protective Services have been notified and a caseworker is waiting until later to determine if any action is needed. Beane says she fears prosecutors will make an example out of her.

"I am not an unfit mother, my kids are not abused."

Jon Mills